Advocates Press Congress For More Autism Research Funds

Some lawmakers and activists are asking if the federal government
should step up its efforts to underwrite research and give better
guidance on the possible links between autism and environmental
factors.

Two bills pending in Congress would authorize more federal funding
for autism research and attempt to better coordinate research efforts.
A general agreement on this fiscal year's budget also contains a
nonbinding House resolution urging appropriators to provide more
funding for researchers.

And, in Washington last week, some lawmakers renewed their calls for
more study and awareness of the condition. At a House Commerce
Committee hearing Oct. 12 on children's health issues, actress Rene
Russo made a plea for the cause.

The Autism Society of America, a parent-advocacy group with 24,000
members based in Bethesda, Md., has been lobbying Congress for more
funding for investigation by the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Autism funding is
spread among many federal entities. The National Institute of Mental
Health, one of several NIH institutes that support autism research,
increased its funding for autism work from $8.7 million in fiscal 1997
to $9.6 million in fiscal 1998, the most recent year for which data are
available.

Autism Society Executive Director Joan Zaro said her organization
was particularly concerned about the lack of knowledge about the causes
of autism, and would like to learn if there are ways to prevent the
condition.

"These are serious issues being raised that have not been adequately
addressed by the federal government," Ms. Zaro said.

In addition, Rep. Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who chairs the
House Government Reform Committee, is asking whether states should
continue to mandate certain childhood vaccinations and whether more
research is needed on possible side effects. In recent months, media
attention has focused on the safety of vaccines and their possible
links to autism and other health problems.

'Cluster' Study

Other environmental factors are also being considered. In the
historic seaside township of Brick, N.J., the CDC recently homed in on
what some parents assert is a suspicious "cluster" of children
diagnosed with autism.

Brick Township Public Schools Special Education Director Maureen
Zolkiewicz said in an interview that her district was one of the first
in her state to offer services for autistic students and that it
continues to provide an array of education supports to such
youngsters.

Autism clusters are particularly difficult to define without a
national database of the exact numbers of children identified, said
Arthur Block, a senior regional representative for the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, the federal agency that is undertaking
the preliminary investigation in Brick. Clusters for other diseases,
such as cancer, have been identified and in some cases traced to
environmental factors.

Based on an extensive review of existing research, "autism has not
been associated with environmental exposures," he said. Mr. Block's
agency is studying Brick's water supply, but does not expect to find
any contaminants.

Vol. 19, Issue 8, Page 14

Published in Print: October 20, 1999, as Advocates Press Congress For More Autism Research Funds

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